Just West of Tianamen Square is a modern shopping area that, with its huge commerical billboards, could be mistaken for any N.American city (well, maybe near a Chinatown in any NA city).

My knee-jerk reaction is "look all the f*****' advertising ". But I have friends in media/advertising and rather than working low-pay jobs or factory jobs they sell advertising. That changed my outlook a bit. Now I think it is better for those big rich companies to spread some money around via local advertising rather than send it all back overseas or into fewer (already wealthy) hands up above.

Seeing those golden arches when in a foriegn land can be a huge freaking relief.

The examples given earlier about coke and pepsi coolers is different than simple advertising.

I am reminded of an instance where, while staying with some friends, i muted a commercial on tv. The outraged response of the kids was horrifying to me. I am also reminded of a Simpson's episode where Lisa points out that the only songs anyone knows are commercial jingos.

Then there is the very real knowledge that our politicians use the services of ad agencies to pitch their agendas to voters.

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Originally posted by albear:
I have just been doing research about Pepsico. I cannot believe how many different products they offer besides the regular Soft drinks (Gatorade,Tropicana,Propel,Aquafina,Starbucks,Lipton). How is a small vendor supposed to get shelf space, and Coca Cola probalbly owns the other half of the products I find on the supermarket shelves.

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Originally posted by Adam T:
Market share
from oligopolywatch
(I think this is Canadian figures)
Coca Cola
44.1%
Coke, Sprite, Barq, Fanta, Mello Yello, etc.

Pepsico
31.4%
Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Mug, Slice, etc.

Cadbury/Schweppes
14.7%
Seven-Up, Dr. Pepper, Schweppes, A & W, Canada Dry, Sunkist, Squirt, etc.

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Why has Canada brought no antitrust actions?

We are all influenced by advertising, and brand does have real value beyond simple images and words.

But at the same time, we are not really mindless sheep. We still buy products that taste better (and yes, Coke and Pepsi do taste different). Read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. He describes some fascinating research explaining how we make decisions in this regard.

In any case, if you object to brand monopolies, the answer has nothing to do with advertising. The government just has to abolish trademarks. That would change everything overnight.

[ 01 August 2006: Message edited by: Proaxiom ]

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We are all influenced by advertising, and brand does have real value beyond simple images and words.

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You assume far too much. I for one am repelled by advertising and there are more than a few people who purchase items because they have done the research on which one best suits their needs.

Brand names are primarily for sheep and those people who have no identity of their own. But they can be a xxxxx owner or a yyyy groupie/consumer.

I remember a time when brand names gave away promotional items like hats and shirts with their logos. But the were soon inundated by the sheep who insisted upon paying for the items. Now they get free advertising from their sychopants and can even more profits from this form of marketing.

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Originally posted by otter:

You assume far too much. I for one am repelled by advertising and there are more than a few people who purchase items because they have done the research on which one best suits their needs.

Brand names are primarily for sheep and those people who have no identity of their own. But they can be a xxxxx owner or a yyyy groupie/consumer.

I remember a time when brand names gave away promotional items like hats and shirts with their logos. But the were soon inundated by the sheep who insisted upon paying for the items. Now they get free advertising from their sychopants and can even more profits from this form of marketing.

Bah!!!

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One of the things I miss most from my youth are the local soft drinks bottled in Petawawa by Giesebrecht's, under the Vitality brand, in clear glass bottles - particularly their own unique flavours, like Spruce Beer and Minted Grape. They had a store on the highway through town.

They were also the Pepsi bottler for the whole north and east of the province. When Pepsi moved to cans and began to ship themselves all over, Giesebrecht's lost the franchise, and shortly thereafter abandoned the business.

They continued to make fabulous ice cream for a decade or so, but now that's long gone, too. Replaced by over-sweet and under-flavoured crap like Hagen Das and Breyer's.

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Originally posted by otter:
You assume far too much. I for one am repelled by advertising and there are more than a few people who purchase items because they have done the research on which one best suits their needs.

Brand names are primarily for sheep and those people who have no identity of their own. But they can be a xxxxx owner or a yyyy groupie/consumer.

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I think many people who believe themselves immune to advertising would be surprised if they were objectively tested.

Doing research goes a long way in countering effects of brand and marketing, but do you really research every product you buy?

Seriously, you should read Blink. It references studies that show how the results of taste tests change when the tasters see the colour or the shape of the package the product came in. They actually report it tasting different. Results change dramatically when tasters see a brand name. The tasters were not consciously aware that they were biased. It turns out the subconscious really has a way of jerking us around, and we have no idea what's happening.

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Originally posted by Brian White:
I remember my friend eamon from small town ireland trying to get a meal in mannheim germany.
he desperately wanted something familiar. Even as I pestered him to try a nice turkish lamb kabab, he was tranfixed by the familiar golden arches and his eyes never wavered from that vision of security.

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I feel your friend's pain. I'm a very adventurous person, and I have to be, because my Greek husband's exceptional skills in the English language don't extend to translating what menu items mean. He's never had to learn english words for what food is, why would he, it's not something he'd use in business or anything My Greek language skills are slow to progress. Hence, when we go to a restaurant, half the time, things are hit and miss, if I try anything new.

Food in our city restaurants is generally quite good, but even the 'ethnic' food has a tendency to be 'Greekified', much the same as the ethnic food back home has surely been 'Canadianized'. The spices are different, the contents are different. And as much as I love it, sometimes, homesickness overwhelms me, and I want something familiar.

McDonalds is familiar. I hate the corporate culture, in fact, I really don't like -our- McDonalds. But still, we go there, because it's a taste of home for me. (They do have Greek Mac and Greek Chicken items, both have pitas instead of buns)

If franchises/brand names of this sort appeal even to adventuresome brave folks, imagine how it would be for people with kids that were picky, or people that were worried about eating in a foreign country. There's something to be said for the familiarity of franchising, you always know what you're getting, a Big Mac is a Big Mac, a McFlurry is a McFlurry. Apple pies here are not the same, they're actual slices of apple pie, but I digress.